-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- NATO representatives and lawmakers from alliance nations will meet in Iceland Thursday to discuss security challenges that are likely to arise as the Arctic Circle thaws .

Global warming is opening up more parts of the Arctic to development and raising security concerns .

The area -- one of the planet 's most fragile and pristine ecosystems -- sits atop a bounty of untapped fossil fuels . And as the melting polar ice makes the Arctic more accessible to ships , several countries are scrambling to claim jurisdiction in the area .

`` The economic interests are reflected in ... competing claims by relevant stakeholders , and resumed military presence in the area , '' NATO said on its Web site . `` As it is a region of enduring strategic importance for NATO and allied security , developments in the High North require careful and ongoing examination . ''

The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that 90 billion barrels of oil , 44 billion barrels of natural gas liquids and 1,670 trillion cubic feet of natural gas are recoverable in the frozen region north of the Arctic Circle .

At the same time , Arctic water is warming so quickly that the entire region could be ice-free by 2013 .

Already Russia , Canada , the United States , Denmark , Norway , Sweden , Iceland and Finland are fighting to lay claim to the Arctic 's icy real estate .

Unlike Antarctica , which has a treaty that prohibits territorial claims , there is no agreement for the vast expanse of the Arctic . So questions about drilling rights and shipping lanes are somewhat murky .

According to the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea , countries are entitled to exclusive economic zones up to 200 miles from their shores . But some countries are trying to extend that zone .

Russian scientists want to prove the seabed below the North Pole is part of the Eurasian continental shelf , an area called the Lomonosov Ridge .

If that is the case , the region would be under Russian control . Moscow argued before a U.N. commission in 2001 that the ridge is an extension of its continental territory . But the United Nations asked for more evidence .

Danish scientists are trying to prove that the Lomonosov Ridge is connected to Greenland , and Canadian scientists are looking for links between the ridge and Ellesmere Island , a Canadian territory .

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer will attend the two-day conference in Reykjavek .

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NATO meeting in Iceland to discuss Arctic security challenges

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Thawing of Arctic poses questions over who controls region 's resources

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Number of countries laying claim to Arctic due to untapped fossil fuel deposits